Prescription Veterinary Diets

What is a prescription veterinary diet?  These diets have been specially formulated to help treat or manage a diagnosed condition.  There are a variety of these types of diets and several manufacturers.  SPVC carries both Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets and Hill’s Prescription Diets.  If the situation calls for it we also have the ability to order Royal Canin’s Veterinary Diets.

Veterinary diets can be used in the management of a variety of conditions including renal disease, skin conditions and food hypersensitivities, diabetes, dental health, cardiac health, gastrointestinal conditions, joint conditions, obesity, urinary tract conditions and several others.

There are even prescription treats available so your pet can still get treats even if they have other dietary restrictions.

There are also probiotics available for dogs and cats that can be prescribed if appropriate.

If your dog or cat has been diagnosed with any chronic medical condition and you would like to discuss if any prescription diets might be appropriate for your 

pet, please call our office.

Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets - Canine	Hill’s Prescription Diets - Canine	Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets - Feline	Hill’s Prescription Diets - Feline
DCO Dual Fiber Control	w/d Digestive/Weight/Glucose Management	DM Dietetic Management	w/d Digestive/Weight/Glucose Management, m/d Glucose/Weight Management
DH Dental Health	t/d Dental Care	DH Dental Health	t/d Dental Care
DRM Dermatologic Management	d/d Skin/Food Sensitivities		d/d Skin/Food Sensitivities
EN Gastroenteric	i/d Digestive Care	EN Gastroenteric	i/d Digestive Care
HA Hydrolyzed	z/d Skin/Food Sensitivities	HA Hydrolyzed	z/d Skin/Food Sensitivities
JM Joint Mobility	j/d Joint Care, Metabolic & Mobility Weight and Joint Care		j/d Joint Care, Metabolic & Mobility Weight and Joint Care
NF Kidney Function	k/d Kidney Care	NF Kidney Function	k/d Kidney Care
OM Select Blend Overweight Management	r/d Weight Reduction, Metabolic Weight Management	OM Overweight Management	r/d Weight Reduction, Metabolic Weight Management
UR Urinary Ox/St	c/d Urinary Care, s/d Urinary Care, u/d Urinary Care	UR Urinary St/Ox	c/d Urinary Care, s/d Urinary Care, Metabolic & Urinary Care
	a/d Urgent Care		a/d Urgent Care
	b/d Brain Aging Care
	g/d Aging Care		g/d Aging Care
	h/d Heart Care
	I/d Liver Care		I/d Liver Care
	n/d Critical Care
			y/d Thyroid Care

-Jennifer D'Amato-Anderson, MS (Animal Nutrition)

POISON!!!!!

Now that I have your attention I thought it'd be a good topic to discuss common household and environmental poisons to dogs and cats :)  Many people are aware of things like chocolate and anti-freeze but I'd like to go a step further and mention a few lesser known toxins.  First off, a lot of dogs are like living vacuum cleaners and will happily "help" you around the house by cleaning with their mouths.  This is why it's so important to know what they can or cannot "clean" by ingestion.

Chocolate: Most everyone know this one is bad for dogs.  The biggest reason it tends to be "poisonous" to dogs is that they ingest A LOT of it.  Most of the time they won't stop like a reasonable human, they could easily scarf down a Costco size box of Hershey's kisses.  Theobromine (along with caffeine) is the main toxic component of chocolate.  Baker's chocolate has the highest amount and is therefore the most toxic.  A sweet milk chocolate (Hershey's Kiss) would have the least amount.  It also depends on the size of the dog, but if your 70 pound Labrador eats a few Hershey's kisses he or she will be fine.  Your 22 lb dog that eats 20 ounces of milk chocolate or just over 2 ounces of baking chocolate would be ingesting a toxic dose.  If your dog ingests any amount of any chocolate please give us a call.

Raisins/Grapes:  Raisins are bad for both dogs and cats.  Resist the urge to ever use either as a treat.  They taste delicious, but they can put our pets into kidney failure.  No one really knows why they can be toxic to dogs and cats.  In fact, some dogs can have a bag full of grapes and be fine.  Others can eat 5 and go into renal failure.  So it seems that it is animal specific, wish we had a better explanation.

Lilies:  This one is for cats and includes any lilies from the genera Lilium and Hemerocallis.  Easter lilies are a big one during spring time especially for indoor cats.  Cats can go into sudden kidney failure by messing around with these flowers.  Ingestion of only a few leaves has resulted in death.  They are found in MANY normal floral bouquets, so if you have any around the house make sure they are far from where your cats can get to.

Gum (with xylitol sweetener):  Xylitol is a sugar alcohol used in many different gums.  It causes a drop in blood sugar in dogs and sometimes liver damage.  This can lead to tremors, weakness, seizures and in severe cases death.  Xylitol toxicity is dose dependent and it's often very difficult to tell how much xylitol is in any given piece of gum.  For some reason, a lot of dogs love gum.  My dog Fuji loves fresh breath and has been to the clinic several times for ingesting my gum packs (wrapper and all).  It's not fun, so best to keep gum away from dogs or purchase gum that does not have xylitol as an ingredient.

Over the counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: Drugs such as aspirin, acetaminophen (not an NSAID), ibuprofen, naproxen, etc.  To include topical creams that contain NSAIDs that your pet could lick off of you.  This applies for both dogs and cats as they are not small humans.  Metabolism is different and therefore human products can be dangerous.  Yes, there are certain ones that MAY be used in dogs and cats, but there are safer pain medications specifically formulated for dogs and cats available at any veterinary clinic.  Cats in particular are VERY sensitive to all NSAIDS.  Their kidneys have a tendency to suffer damage quite easily, which is why drug companies have come out with specific NSAIDS approved for cats.  Even those are not labeled for long term usage.  Acetaminophen (Tylenol) can kill a cat, don't use it.

Hops: Yep, the bitter stuff in beer.  Most people won't have a big issue with this one unless you're a home brewer or use it in gardening.  It affects some dogs more than others.  Dogs suffer from what is called "malignant hyperthermia".  They get really hot, pant, shake, become agitated and in severe cases can die.  Chances are no beer is going to contain enough hops to do anything but I would still say no to giving big ol' Brutus a couple of pints of Dead Guy Ale mainly because there's the whole "alcohol toxicity" part of it.

Onions: Yes, unfortunately onions, or even onion powder can be toxic to dogs.  The toxic dose is unclear but any onion product should simply be avoided.  It has been shown to cause hemolytic anemia in dogs, which means their red blood cells rupture due to toxicity.  This can lead to death.  Onion powder may even be worse on a weight basis because it can contain much more actual onion than one might think.

This is just a short list of common household items that sometimes we as pet guardians don't think about.  When in doubt about anything, don't hesitate to give us a call.  Happy June!
-Dr. C

Body Condition Scoring

Often clients ask how much their pets should weigh, but rather than focus on a specific weight it is often better to consider total body condition which is where body condition scoring comes into play.  Body condition scoring is a helpful tool to ensure that your pet is at a healthy weight.  It combines visual assessment with palpation of specific areas of your pet’s body.  There are different scales but they all range from underweight to overweight.  On a nine point scale an ideal body condition is generally scored with a five.  Once you become familiar with the scale it can be used routinely to assist you with maintaining a healthy weight for your pet.  If you try out the scales below and discover your pet is not at an ideal score we are happy to help with suggestions on how to get your pet to a healthier weight.  Also if you would like us to body condition score your pet to compare with the score you arrived at or just to give you a starting point we are happy to do so.

-Jennifer D'Amato-Anderson, MS (Animal Nutrition)

References: Body Condition Scoring System Nestle Purina PetCare Company

Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition, First Ed. Edited by Andrea J. Fascetti and Sean J. Delaney.

Why can’t I feed my cat the same food as my dog?

The main reason you should not feed cats and dogs the same food is that they have different nutritional requirements and pet food is formulated to meet these different requirements.  This difference in requirements stems from their differences in metabolism and metabolic adaptations.  Dogs are omnivores and cats are obligate carnivores.

The canine digestive tract has developed characteristics that allow digestion and usage of a diet with a variety of ingredients.  For instance dogs have enzymes to digest starch effectively and so tolerate dietary carbohydrates well.

Cats on the other hand have dietary requirements that other mammals do not such as their requirement for taurine and arachidonic acid.  Also cats have a much higher dietary protein requirement than dogs.  As carnivores, cats must have part of their diet made up of meat to obtain nutrients such as arachidonic acid while dogs do not.

If you only feed your cat a pet food made for dogs, your cat’s nutrient requirements will not be met and your cat will suffer nutrient deficiencies and die.

-Jennifer D'Amato-Anderson, MS (Animal Nutrition)

Reference: Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition, First Ed. Edited by Andrea J. Fascetti and Sean J. Delaney.

Meet Buddy

We sat down for an interview with a member of SPVC staff, who's face most all of you have seen at some point or another.  His name is Buddy.  Here's some basic info about the furry orange felid.

Name: Buddy, Budward, Buddy-licious, Boday and a few other aliases

Age: Unknown

Favorite food: Friskies Party Mix or just about any cat treat unless it's a pill pocket with a pill hidden in it

Favorite past time: Tossing pens, pencils, medications, keys, and credit cards on the ground and making you pick them back up.

Arch Enemy: Anything that is or looks like a dog

Favorite color: Orange

Favorite person: Wanda (And me, though Wanda would disagree)

Best trick: Standing up to get a treat

Employment position: Master of the Universe, Ruler of the World

Weaknesses: Kittens, lots of kittens

Least favorite things: Getting monthly flea prevention, getting vaccines, dogs, and weekends

Hope you enjoyed getting to know our most valuable staff member.  Please feel free to stop by and visit with him anytime!

Equine Herpes Virus Detected in Marion County Horse

Please visit this website: http://odanews.wpengine.com/news-release-equine-herpes-virus-detected-in-marion-county-horse/ for information regarding equine Herpes virus in the Willamette Valley

Kennel Cough?

Hello again!  Hope everyone has been enjoying this lovely weather we've been having lately.  On this post I wanted to talk a little about what most know as "kennel cough".  First off, kennel cough goes by several different names.  The most commonly used terms to describe "kennel cough" in the veterinary practice are canine infectious tracheobronchitis or canine respiratory disease complex.  The important thing to know about this complex disease is that it is most often caused by more than one organism.

Here is a list of organisms that can cause "kennel cough"
-Bordetella bronchiseptica (bacterial)
-Mycoplasma spp. (bacterial)
-Staphylococcus zooepidemicus (bacterial)
-Parainfluenza (viral)
-Canine distemper virus
-Canine respiratory coronavirus
-Canine adenovirus
-Canine herpes virus

(see citation below)

As you can see there are MANY organisms that can cause "kennel cough".  I often get the question as to why I diagnose some dogs with kennel cough, who have also had their "kennel cough" vaccine.  The "kennel cough" vaccine should more appropriately be called the "Bordetella" vaccine, which as you know is a common cause of kennel cough.  In addition, if your dog is vaccinated with his or her annual vaccine (DA2PP+CV) then they are also protected against 4 other causes (distemper, parainfluenza, coronavirus and adenovirus).  I should note that this still does not mean your dog can't get kennel cough.  Depending on your pets natural immunity, protection may only be partial.  Meaning they may get kennel cough but the severity won't be as bad as it would be without the vaccine.

Unfortunately, full protection cannot be achieved with any vaccine because there are so many issues to take into account with this disease complex.  So we all try our best to do what we can to prevent an infection from happening.  Boarding facilities, grooming salons, pet stores, dog parks are all risk factors.  This shouldn't prevent you from allowing your dog to visit these places, afterall that's no fun for them!  This is why it is so important to vaccinate your pet to reduce that risk.  

If your dog does end up getting canine respiratory disease complex treatment is approached in several different ways.  Sometimes if the infection is minor the disease can be self-limiting.  In other words, the dog will get better on its own.  This is more often seen in those dogs that have been previously vaccinated.  Many veterinarians approach treatment differently.  Some may prescribe antibiotics if they feel a bacterial component is more likely involved or cough suppressants if they feel this will make the dog more comfortable.  Sometimes radiographs are taken to see the extent of the disease but this all depends on severity.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions.  Enjoy the sun out there with your furry friends.

Reference : https://oregonvma.org/files/Kommedal-Canine-Infectious-Respiratory-Disease-Complex.pdf